"We
would never have survived long enough to be rescued by the CIA if it had not
been for John," Lijek told CBC's All in a Day.

Lijek's
book, The Houseguests: a Story of Canadian Courage and CIA Sorcery,
tells the story of then 27-year-old Lijek and five other Americans sheltered by
Sheardown for three months after escaping from the U.S. embassy in Tehran until they were secretly shuttled out of the country in a CIA-masterminded
plan.

"He
never let us feel that we were imposing, despite the fact we were eating all
his food and drinking all his whisky," said Lijek. "He was the
perfect host."

Sheardown, who Lijek describes as very likable, decent and genuine, became almost a father-figure to Lijek during that time.

Sheardown
and his wife worked hard to conceal their houseguests. Sheardown shopped at
different stores to avoid buying huge quantities of groceries at single locations
and took out the garbage in the middle of the night. His wife ensured visitors
and the couple's gardener, who was a member of the local revolutionary
committee, did not get suspicious.

Lijek
wrote the book because he wanted the Canadians to get the credit he feels
they deserve, after being mainly ignored by mainstream media and Argo.

"I
realized it was a now-or-never moment for me," said Lijek, referring to
how he felt after reading initial Argo screenplay drafts, which omitted Sheardown's
story.

Although
Lijek appreciates the CIA's role in the group's rescue, he said he feels that the
primary rescue happen on Nov. 10 -- the day they marched into Sheardown's house.

"Of
all the people that I talk about in my book as heroes," he said, "if
I had to pick one, it would be John."